Bright Ideas: Exploring Casambi's Smart Lighting Control

In the ever-evolving landscape of lighting control solutions, Casambi stands out as a wireless, intelligent and scalable platform that transforms the way we interact with light. At Integral LED we’ve delved deeper into some of the features and functionality to highlight how Casambi can create smarter, more seamless lighting control for homes, businesses, and beyond.

Wireless Bluetooth Convenience

Casambi operates on a wireless Bluetooth mesh network, liberating users from the constraints of traditional wired setups. This not only simplifies installation but also provides the flexibility to control lighting fixtures effortlessly and even remotely.

Leveraging Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, Casambi enables smooth and energy-efficient communication which users can control directly via the app from their smart devices, offering a convenient, intuitive and user-friendly interface.

The mesh network operates by allowing devices to communicate with each other in a decentralised manner, forming a web-like structure where each driver or luminaire can relay information to others. This interconnectivity ensures a smarter system as it enhances data transmission reliability, extends the network range, and enables devices to collaborate faultlessly.

Control Hierarchy

Casambi introduces a sophisticated control hierarchy, allowing users to establish a structured system for managing multiple lighting groups. This hierarchy facilitates ease of control and customisation, ensuring that users can tailor lighting environments to their precise specifications.

Manual lighting control takes precedence with the highest priority in the hierarchy. Whether controlled through the app, switches, or push buttons, manual commands always override automated controls.

Presence sensors operate on the second-highest priority. They can trigger scenes based on detected presence and deactivate them when presence is no longer detected. This enables dynamic lighting adjustments in response to occupancy. A Casambi ‘Evolution’ network can support up to 30 sensors simultaneously whilst a ‘Classic’ network can support 10.

Timers, split into date and weekday categories, can be given settings to override presence sensors, but will otherwise sit as the lowest priority levels within the hierarchy. Date-based timers take precedence over weekday timers, allowing for seasonal changes and programmes.

When multiple controls simultaneously attempt to manage a luminaire, Casambi adheres to the highest priority command. The system dynamically adjusts, with luminaires fading into the next highest priority when the primary control is removed. Commands with the same priority level follow a "latest takes precedence" order. If multiple sensors simultaneously affect the dimmed level of the same luminaire, the highest dimmed level prevails.

Group Control & Dynamic Scenes

With Casambi, lighting becomes dynamic. Casambi empowers users to create and manage groups of lighting fixtures for coordinated control of tailored lighting scenes or moods. It's a simple yet powerful feature for personalised lighting.

Grouped control permits the user to create collections of luminaires, usually in specific areas, which can be controlled at once, allowing users to set common attributes like brightness levels, correlated colour temperature or RGB colour. A group is shown as an icon in the Luminaires tab, enhancing ease of navigation within large networks. Unlike scenes designed for automation, groups serve manual control purposes.

Scenes let you create and recall various lighting setups. A scene consists of a group or groups of luminaires and tailored settings and timings. Scenes can be triggered manually, by sensors, or timers and must be activated by an external action. There are three types of scenes: Basic scenes for single lighting scenarios, Animation scenes for sequenced lighting changes, and Time-based scenes that adjust based on preset conditions.

Scalability & Compatibility

Offering scalability tailored to any space, be it a snug home or an expansive commercial environment, the flexibility of Casambi's system ensures effortless adaptation to your specific requirements. Users can easily incorporate or remove fixtures within the network, all while maintaining optimal performance.

Casambi has worked tirelessly to ensure interoperability with various manufacturers and Casambi firmware. This enables lighting designers to use an expansive array of products from various sources and shields users from concerns about technological obsolescence. In this way, Casambi modules offer flexibility for both retrofitting existing installations and integrating with new lighting projects, whilst highlighting Casambi's commitment to providing adaptable and efficient lighting solutions.

Intelligent Sensors & Energy Efficiency

Casambi's ecosystem design allows the incorporation of intelligent sensors, such as motion detectors and daylight sensors, for more sustainable and flexible lighting. Motion detectors allow automated lighting adjustments based on occupancy, ensuring that lights are activated only when needed; not only enhancing convenience but also contributing to substantial energy savings by eliminating unnecessary usage. Similarly, the incorporation of daylight sensors enables the system to respond dynamically to natural light levels, adjusting artificial lighting accordingly. This smart interaction with environmental cues ensures that energy is used judiciously, dimming or brightening lights in response to the available natural light.

Casambi's energy-efficient practices are underscored by its utilisation of low-energy Bluetooth technology, which not only facilitates communication within the network but also aligns with a sustainable approach by minimising power consumption. By combining wireless precision, integration with intelligent sensors, and the use of low-energy Bluetooth, Casambi provides a comprehensive solution that not only meets user preferences for lighting but also actively contributes to reduced energy costs and promoting eco-friendly practices.

Control Anywhere, Anytime

The incorporation of cloud-powered control in select versions of Casambi marks a significant leap in the realm of lighting management. By leveraging cloud connectivity, users gain the ability to remotely monitor and control their lighting systems, transcending geographical constraints. Whether adjusting lighting settings for energy efficiency or ensuring security through scheduled lighting changes, the cloud-powered control offered by Casambi enhances the user experience, streamlining daily operations and contributing to a more responsive and adaptive lighting ecosystem.

Integral LED offers a range of Casambi enabled drivers and modules to allow our products to be used in conjunction with the Casambi smart lighting control system. Find out more here.